Day Two- More Oxford, special invitation from Lord of the Manor

What a wonderful day 2 of visiting Oxford. We started with breakfast in fantastic Keble Hall-- much like the Harry Potter dining room. We met new friends Andrea and John who were there for a Keble College reunion. They were quite amused we had stayed there, of all places. Andrea was a grad of the engineering school. They lived a couple hours away in a town called Redding and even John was amazed at the hall and overall atmosphere and vibe of the college. He wanted us to know most of England is NOT like Oxford! When we explained our itinerary to him he said we'll be seeing more of England than he has, and he was born here.

Anyway, Diane met us after breakfast. Gene isn't feeling well so he stayed home to rest for our trip to Cambridge tomorrow. We missed him today but Diane was a great tour guide. We started at the Covered Market which is quaint and fascinating. We saw goodies and meats and trinkets, oh my!

 Then we were off to the tower at University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. (I wonder if they call it UCSMV!?) We climbed the tower which gave us a bird's eye view of Oxford at every angle-- breathtaking! (I only had a tiny reaction to the sun-- I'm pretty well-covered in my touristy-looking sun-protective wear!) Here's Ken's "selfie" with his big ol' finger pointing at the deck right above the clock where you can walk  around if you pay $4 to climb the tower.

Then we went to New College, where Gene and Diane lived years back. We loved the lush garden and "The Mound" and spent some time in the amazing chapel (had to sneak pictures) and the Cloisters (like a memorial courtyard). Very Harry Potter-esque.

By then we were ready for a stop at Blackwell's Bookshop for coffee and treats. YUM. Then we returned to our room to change for the reception to which Gene and Diane had been invited-- sorry for Gene to miss it. It was our ticket into Magdalen College-- which has, like other schools, an incredible chapel, cloisters, and a magnificent lawn/courtyard where the party was (we never saw the person who was being celebrated!). There we met Robert Spencer Bernard, Lord of the Manor at Nether Winchendon House. He is the present owner of Nether Winchendon House, a Medieval and Tudor manor house that has passed by family descent for over 450 years and remains a family home to this day. Gene met Mr. Bernard on one of his walks and struck up a conversation over the 1662 matins (morning services) and evensong services at the local church. Gene and Diane were invited to the reception along with their "American guests" (us!). We had strawberries and cream out on the lawn with a refreshing beverage amongst the elite and well-educated Dukes and Duchessess (Duchi? perhaps...). I think we saw Lord and Lady Grantham...(actually when we told Sir Robert that we tried to get into 'Downton Abbey' (Highclere Castle) he said, "If I had known I could have arranged something with the Lord of the Manor there...he comes down quite often to Buckinghamshire to visit...indeed!) Jan's parting words to him were, "We anxiously await an invitation to your home!" That was even before we saw how prestigious it really is after we looked online (quite a few movie credits!) I (Jan now) enjoyed Lord Robert immensely and said to Diane as we walked out, "I feel like I just chatted with Prince Charles."

After Diane left us to head back to Gene, we taxi'd back to our room and changed back into touring clothes. We walked a LOT, doing the shops on Cornmarket Street-- mainly modern shops (I bought a UK hair dryer!)-- and we are still on the hunt for a cheap watch for Ken since that filthy robber took his drugstore Casio which he loved. (Stay tuned as that exciting adventure is sure to unfold!)
On our way back out we poked our head into the Keble College Chapel. What beautiful mosaics with the afternoon sun streaming into this silent and holy place. I loved the Noah's ark one.

We were quite ready for a meal and found a nice supper at Wig and Pen. Ken had a Yorkshire pudding wrap and I enjoyed a delicious chicken breast with bacon, BBQ sauce and cheese. It was a nice yet affordable find.

Our friends Marvin and Linda will be amused to know we did laundry AGAIN-- but only because last night we found a token for a free wash in the laundry room, so why not start again tomorrow with all clean clothes? (Ok, I admit it-- I have laundry OCD!) Why not do a batch (again, free!) while reading the Rick Steve's Guidebook for tomorrow's visit to Cambridge? (He completely blows off Oxford-- tsk tsk!) Can't wait for another exciting day and can't wait to lay my head down to sleep!